A union's ballot over pay at the Department for Work and Pensions has fallen short of the 50% turnout threshold needed to take action.
The PCS union held a five-week ballot on pay at the department, which closed at noon on Monday. While 85% of members who handed in their ballot papers voted yes, the union failed to meet the legal threshold that requires at least 50% of members entitled to vote in industrial action ballots to participate.
PCS general secretary Fran Heathcote said "thousands backed industrial action despite a system designed to suppress participation", arguing the statutory postal ballot "created barriers that meant too many voices went unheard".
In a consultation carried out in September and October, where PCS members were asked if they would be willing to take industrial action over pay, 80.5% voted in favour on a turnout of 52.3%.
"PCS has long called for secure electronic balloting," Heathcote said. "The government has promised modernisation and that reform is overdue. We will continue to push for a fair system fit for the 21st century, while returning to negotiations united and determined."
Heathcote added: "I thank every rep and member who worked so hard during this ballot and secured an overwhelming vote in favour of industrial action. While we have been prevented from enacting that mandate by the Tories' undemocratic turnout threshold, it shows the depth of anger among DWP staff."
The union’s ballot was framed as an opportunity for members working at the department to signal their willingness to strike over “chronic low pay” and DWP's implementation of the 2025-26 pay award. PCS formally rejected the department's pay offer last year.
PCS's DWP Group Executive Committee said obstacles to the ballot had included a DWP challenge that forced a delay and – more significantly – a Royal Mail crisis that saw hundreds of postcodes affected by postal backlogs, with members reporting ballot papers arriving weeks late and some arriving just as the ballot closed. The union said that in the final week of the ballot, almost 4,000 members had advised they were ready to vote as soon as their papers arrived.
"It has been a perfect storm," the DWP GEC said. "A mandate to strike on pay would have allowed the GEC to build a strategy to win improvements across the board. That is not to be at this time. The GEC will meet now to discuss next steps – and members should be assured, we will continue to challenge this department on all fronts. We are not cowed. We are enthused by the YES vote and our campaign continues."
A DWP spokesperson said: “We are committed to ensuring fair, competitive pay for all our employees, and we have listened to feedback and worked closely with trade unions, which directly helped to shape the final offer and considered the forthcoming National Living Wage increase.
“The current pay award reflects the department’s responsibility to balance affordability with the need to recruit and retain staff across a large and diverse workforce. The approach taken fully complies with the civil service pay remit guidance and ensures the award is allocated in a way that best supports DWP’s priorities.”